New York Mets' Clubhouse Is Bad: Fact or Fiction?

Much has been said about the Mets, with both their on-field celebrations after a home run or a victory against a far lesser team and their clubhouse atmosphere being divided between the Latinos and Caucasian players.

To a man, every Met claims that there is not a problem; they are a cohesive unit that has fun together and gets along well.

There were things mentioned by both Paul Lo Duca and Billy Wagner indicating that the Latino players were not cooperative with the English-speaking media after the game.

However, since both Lo Duca and Wagner are former Mets, there has been no further word of any friction.

Jeff Francoeur, who arrived in New York from the Atlanta Braves last season, said that while he was with Atlanta, he thought the clubhouse was divided but time with the team has proved that incorrect.

There are media outlets, Mike Francesca of WFAN radio at the top of the list, that insist on saying that the Mets have a bad clubhouse atmosphere and that has been the downfall of the team the last three seasons.

I'm sure that Francesca knows that the top management may foster an unhealthy atmosphere and that a lot of blame falls with the Wilpons down to Jerry Manuel

David Wright was a guest on Mike Francesca's show this afternoon and said that the other players take their lead from the core players. He didn't seem to put much stock in the language barrier during post-game interviews being a reason why he is left to answer for the whole team day in and day out for 162 games.

If a player makes a critical error or does not get the job done during a crucial at-bat, he needs to stand at his locker and answer the tough questions.

What goes on behind closed doors is anyone's guess, but with the media intent on pressing this issue, you do have to wonder if there is any amount of truth to it, or is it just media making or embellishing to get the viewers and/or readers.